Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Sun Sheng began to recount everything, item by item.

From small to large, his explanations were extremely clear and logical, his tone modulated and expressive.

Along the way, they passed shops and numerous vendors energetically hawking their wares, loudly announcing the prices of vegetables.

Xu Wen, familiar with the prices, occasionally reminded Emperor Jing of the low cost of goods in the city.

Emperor Jing listened, nodding repeatedly, while the several important ministers accompanying him wore beaming smiles.

A talent! This is a true talent, capable of governing the world and benefiting the people.

He possesses theory, action, and practical experience. Most importantly, he is gentle and refined, neither arrogant nor obsequious, surpassing Fang Zheng Yi by many times!

Yang Yingcai could no longer hide the smugness in his expression.

He kept giving Fang Zheng Yi glances.

Seeing the annoying old man constantly trying to provoke him with his eyes, Fang Zheng Yi felt rather helpless.

He had to admit that Sun Sheng was indeed impressive. His eloquence and methods seemed perfect.

Impeccable!

As expected, there are hidden talents in the Hanlin Academy. It seems this obstacle was quite formidable.

However, as Fang Zheng Yi looked around, he felt an inexplicable discomfort in some areas...

Emperor Jing felt the same way. Initially, he was delighted by Sun Sheng's account.

But the deeper they went into Xinzhang County and the more people he saw, the more he felt something was amiss.

The people of Xinzhang County... their spirit seemed lacking.

Sun Sheng was still speaking eloquently when Emperor Jing interrupted, pointing to the people not far away, and asked, "Why do so many people in the county appear thin and weak?"

"Ah?" Sun Sheng didn't quite understand. He looked in the direction Emperor Jing was pointing and stammered, "Does Your Majesty think they are too thin?... Aren't the common people usually like this? When I first took office, the people I saw were like this."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt that his words were inappropriate and quickly said in a sincere and fearful manner, "This is all my negligence. There is much room for improvement in the lives of the people. I will do my best in the future."

The officials behind Sun Sheng began to whisper among themselves upon seeing this.

"It's alright, I was just curious. You have already done very well."

Thinking that he had only been in office for a short time, perhaps Xinzhang County was poor to begin with, and the people's condition was normal. After all, he couldn't be expected to transform the place overnight.

However, Emperor Jing's question served as a reminder to Fang Zheng Yi.

He looked more closely and his heart slowly sank.

It wasn't just a lack of spirit... it was more like the condition of people who hadn't had enough to eat for a long time.

He had seen too many people like this.

But that shouldn't be the case. Sun Sheng was capable and spoke with great clarity and reason.

Moreover, there had been successive bumper harvests in recent years, and high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes had been widely promoted.

Hengjiang Prefecture was so close to the capital that the people shouldn't be starving. Could he have misjudged the situation?

Li Yansong, Yang Yingcai, Xu Wen, and others behind Emperor Jing were chatting happily, vaguely mentioning Sun Sheng's name, seemingly admiring this capable newcomer.

After Sun Sheng finished his account, Emperor Jing couldn't help but praise, "Good, Minister Sun has done well in governing. Along the way, it is indeed orderly."

"The people live and work in peace, and I am relieved. You must be tired from the journey. Whoever is tired can go back and rest. I want to go outside the city to see the condition of the farmland and personally ask the people about their harvest."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the two officials behind Sun Sheng turned somewhat ugly, and they whispered again.

"We are not tired, we are willing to accompany Your Majesty." The ministers responded in unison, but they all felt a little helpless in their hearts.

Who would be so tactless as to go back and rest at this time... His Majesty's stamina is a bit too good.

"Please wait a moment, Your Majesty. I will prepare the carriages." Sun Sheng turned and ordered people to prepare the carriages.

Emperor Jing then looked at Fang Zheng Yi and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think... it seems like there's nothing to criticize," Fang Zheng Yi hesitated.

"In a while, you will ride in the same sedan chair as me."

.....

Inside the sedan chair, Emperor Jing asked again, "Zheng Yi, what do you think of the governance here? I want to hear what's on your mind."

"Why does Your Majesty ask this?" Fang Zheng Yi countered.

Emperor Jing was silent for a moment, "What Sun Sheng said is reasonable and well-founded, but the difficulty lies in the details."

"You should understand this principle better than I do. For him to be able to perform so perfectly, it's too smooth. Moreover, the condition of the people in Xinzhang is far inferior to that of the people in the capital. Didn't you see that?"

Fang Zheng Yi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty has keen eyes, I feel the same way. But I couldn't find any faults either. The best way is to find some people and ask them directly. Why didn't Your Majesty ask some people just now when you had doubts?"

"The people from the Xinzhang County government are all here. If there really is a problem, asking them in front of them is meaningless. But since you and the other ministers haven't seen any problems, perhaps I am overthinking it. It seems Sun Sheng really has real abilities. After we finish looking around, we will go straight to Pingwan County."

....

The motorcade drove out of the city and soon arrived near a large area of farmland.

Emperor Jing led the group off their horses. The wind was a bit strong, and the fields of wheat swayed in unison, pleasing to the eye.

Emperor Jing's face lit up with a smile again, "It seems this year's harvest should be good. Let's go ahead and take a look."

Not far down the road, a figure appeared on the ridge, sitting with his back to the crowd, dressed as a farmer.

Emperor Jing gave Fang Zheng Yi a look, and Fang Zheng Yi understood and trotted over.

"Old man, are you a local?"

The farmer turned around, holding a pie in his hand, glanced at Fang Zheng Yi and nodded, "Yes, what is it?"

"Uh... what are you eating?" Fang Zheng Yi asked, staring at the pie in his hand.

"Meat pie."

"It's windy, why don't you go home and sit outside to eat?"

"It smells good to eat while watching the wheat. I don't want to go back, what's wrong?"

Fang Zheng Yi looked at him carefully again, his expression somewhat strange.

No one is better than him at pretending, and he hasn't seen this kind of crazy person in the county for so long. How can ancient farmers have this romantic sentiment, they are exhausted every day, they have time to rest and still have the mood to run here and sigh about the good life? He can now be sure that there is definitely a problem in Xinzhang County!

Emperor Jing and his party were initially suspicious when they heard the conversation between the two, but many people laughed later.

An ordinary farmer, eating so well?

Admiration was directed towards Sun Sheng.

Sun Sheng also smiled and seemed a little at a loss.

This man was so timely, sitting on the ridge eating during the day, and His Majesty saw it!

Fang Zheng Yi walked back to Emperor Jing's side and said in a low voice, "There's a problem."

Emperor Jing's heart skipped a beat, his expression unchanged, and he looked at Sun Sheng and said, "Good, the people under your rule are so prosperous. It seems my trip was not in vain."

Sun Sheng said, "Your Majesty is too kind, I still have many shortcomings, please Your Majesty point them out."

The county officials following Sun Sheng were beaming with joy.

At this moment, Emperor Jing said again, "You all go back first, Zheng Yi, Zhang Biao, and Guo Banban will accompany me for a walk. I don't like too many people."

The ministers looked at each other, especially Sun Sheng, whose expression was somewhat fearful and his heart was full of unease.

Where did I go wrong to make His Majesty unhappy? It doesn't seem like it...

Li Yansong and others also thought so, and strange gazes focused on Sun Sheng for a while.

Sun Sheng said anxiously, "Your Majesty, may I ask where I have done something wrong?"